The Lost
by Caffinated Mom
Summary: Why is Ranger so obsessed with keeping tabs on Stephanie Plum? While this is a Babe, it really isn't about our favorite couple. No cupcakes harmed. There will be some very adult themes later in the story, so rating accordingly.
1. Chapter 1

Anything familiar does not belong to me. I am just using them for my own amusement.

SPOV

Mine and Rangers six month anniversary is coming up in a couple of weeks. No, we aren't married, but we are living together and working on our someday. The last six months have been crazy, frustrating and wonderful. That is why I am currently beating my head against the wall at the mall. Ranger is always surprising me with little, and not so little, gifts. I want to surprise him for our anniversary, but really, what does one buy Batman?

As I stand here looking in another store window that is giving me exactly zero ideas, I catch a flash of black out of the corner of my eye. He wouldn't, would he? Surely there is a very good explanation why I am ninety percent sure I just saw a Merry Man at the mall. I have my trackers, I have my panic button. If he is having me shadowed, that means they are also giving him reports, very detailed reports, that will tell him I am planning on surprising him with something (hell, I don't even know what that something is going to be yet).

OK, Plum, before you go off the deep end, figure out if you have a shadow. I walk into a book store, one with lots of rows where one certainly couldn't watch someone from outside the store. I casually stroll through the aisles before abruptly stopping between two aisles, forcing my shadow to come look for me. Yep, it is Binkie. I catch him out of the corner of my eye, but pretend to not see him. I feel sorry for what I am about to do to him, but I deserve a little privacy and Carlos aka Ranger needs to learn that.

I leave the bookstore and go to a small clothing boutique. A friend of mine from high school works there and I am about to enlist her help. After picking out about 10 outfits, I walk up to Maggie.

"Hey Maggie, I am going to buy these, but I need a little help." I say as I slip her my credit card.

"Sure thing, what do you need?" She asks.

"Is there a back door I can leave out of, that can't be seen from the main mall area?" I ask hopefully.

"Sure, there is back door near the dressing room that does back to the corridor where security is and the employee entrance to the mall."

"Great, I am going to go into the dressing room and put these in the bags I already have. Here are the tags. Once you have me wrung up, I'd like to leave through that back door if it is ok with you."

She raises an eye brow at me. Seriously, can everyone do that but me?

Ï am trying to buy Ranger a surprise but I have a shadow." I explain. Everyone knows Ranger.

She smiles and nods. "Got it."

I go into a dressing room and start ditching all of my trackers. I even take the one out of my cell phone. Thanks to Hector for letting me watch him change them out, I now know how to remove them. When Maggie comes to give me my credit card and receipt, I hand her my trackers and a handwritten note, instructing her to give them to Binkie when he comes looking for me. I figure I have about 10 minutes.

I slip out of the mall and bypass my car. I go to the bus stop and board the first bus that pulls up.


	2. Chapter 2

Anything familiar does not belong to me. I am just using them for my own amusement.

SPOV

Three bus changes, a cab ride and an hour and half later, I am finally back at Rangeman. I know Ranger is going to be pissed, but damn it so am I.

When I walk in the front door, Ace looks relieved. I hear him mutter "Thank God" as he picks up the phone. He is no doubt letting Ranger know that I am back in the building.

I storm onto the fifth floor. With everyone looking at me I loudly demand "Carlos Manoso, why are you having me shadowed?"

"Babe."

"No. Don't you Babe me. I agreed to carry your trackers. I agreed to carry a panic button. I did not agree to a shadow. I need some privacy. I don't want one of your men watching everything I do. Do you not trust me?" I have hit rhino mode.

"Babe, can we please talk about this in my office." His eyes have never left me, and he looks less than happy to be having this conversation in front of everyone.

"Fine." I huff as I walk to his office.

Once he shuts the door, and sits at his desk, we just stare at each other for a full minute before I finally ask "What the hell?"

"What the hell?" he asks "I'll tell you 'what the hell', you just scared the fuck out of me and gave Binkie a coronary when he had to call and say he lost you. Not to mention everyone else who dropped what they were doing and started looking for you because we didn't know where you were and if you were ok. What if something happened to you once you left that store. Where have you been for the past hour and thirty-six minutes?"

"I am not a child. You still haven't told me why I even had a shadow." I cross my arms and give him my best Jersey glare.

Ranger's blank face in firmly in place as he coolly replies "Because your safety is important. Why didn't you come talk to me instead of scaring me, all of us, like that?"

"Why didn't you tell me you were assigning me a shadow?"

"Would you have agreed to the shadow?"

"Would you have given me a real reason as to why I need one. A true reason, not your standard 'your safety is important' answer?"

"Babe." Ranger sighs and rubs his hand over his face and hair. I just made Ranger sigh.

"This is where the argument began when I arrived." I say as I finally set down on the couch across from Ranger's desk.

Ranger had just opened his mouth to speak, when there was a knock at the door. Who has enough balls to knock on Ranger's door when they know how pissed he is. We've been yelling, I know the Merry Men aren't stupid. Someone must be dying.

"Enter!" Ranger barks.

Before Lester can even fully get in the door, Ranger growls out a "What. Do. You. Need."

Lester just glances at Ranger and turns back to me asking "Are you ok Beautiful?"

"Yeah, Lester. I'm just frustrated. I have to carry a tracker and a panic button and I still have a shadow. It isn't fair. You guys can go shopping without a shadow or someone monitoring your every movement. And when I ask why, all I get is some BS generic line about my safety being important."

Les takes a deep breath and gives Ranger a sideways glance before sitting down next to me.

"I think I can explain it to you Beautiful."

Ranger nods and gets up as he says "Let's take this conversation upstairs."


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Anything familiar does not belong to me. I am just using them for my own amusement.

LPOV:

The ride up to seven is quiet. I can see the curiosity on Steph's face. Ranger has his blank face on, and I am…..tense. Tense doesn't fit, but I can't think of a better way to explain it. We make it to seven way to quickly for my liking. Shit, I'd rather be by myself in World War 3, than have this conversation.

Steph sits on the couch and I take the chair. Ranger comes out of the kitchen and hands me a glass of scotch as he settles in next to Steph.

"Okay….." starts Beautiful. Always so impatient.

I swallow another big drink of my scotch before I start. "Several years ago, I met a girl. She was a local at one of the bases we were at for some training. She was 18 and about to finish high school and go to college. She was smart, funny, wild….she was perfect. I fell in love with her.

"Whenever I was stateside, we were together as much as we could be. We made it work. She became important to all of us. When I was deployed, I would email her as much as possible, usually only once every month or so and I always had an email waiting on me when I was able to check in. We had been together five years when I emailed her one day….."

I had to take another drink. Fuck this was hard.

"…When I emailed her and I never got a response. By the time I got to check my email again, it had been 2 months and I had nothing. I was thousands of miles away and couldn't contact anyone or find anything out. It was another four months before I got stateside and was able to talk to her family. They said she just disappeared one day. At first no one was concerned, she had just graduated college and was taking the summer off to travel and hit some beaches. But after a couple of weeks, no one had heard from her and her parents filed a missing person report.

"It wasn't long after that, that I found out what happened to her. Ric and I had been approached by our old gang just before that deployment asking us to ….do something we declined to do. Since we wouldn't help them, they viewed it as us taking something from them, and they took something from us."

I stopped for another drink and looked up for the first time since I started my story. Beautiful is looking at me wide eyed and Ranger is staring at me hard.

"They killed her?" Steph asks.

"Not exactly. They kept her for a while. Using her for…..well for whatever they wanted. Then they sold her to human traffickers. That is where the trail ends. That was just over five years ago.

"She can't just be gone. You guys are like super heroes. Maybe there is something you can do now." Steph is crying.

"Beautiful, trust me. The people that took her, that did that to her, we made them pay. I looked, we looked. We did and have done everything we can. Once someone is in the underground it is impossible to track them."

I take a deep breath and continue: "The fact is, the likelihood of her still being alive, is very, very small. In fact, her parents had her declared dead a couple of months ago." I whispered the last part. That part about killed me. I saw the surprise in Rangers eyes as well, I hadn't told him yet.

I picked Beautiful's hand up as I finished. "I will always love her. I still see her face in my dreams. It is why I'll never have a serious relationship with another woman.

"Steph, that is why we go to such great lengths to protect you. It would kill all of us if something like that happened again."

"Lester, I am so sorry. I can't imagine. You know it wasn't your fault, it wasn't any of your faults. You deserve to be happy. If you ever want to talk I would love to hear more about her. What is her name? Do you have a picture?" Steph asks.

I pull out my phone. Ranger raises an eyebrow as I show Steph the one encrypted picture I have on my phone. Every time I get a new phone, Hector moves it over for me. "Her name is Hailey."

"She's beautiful." Steph says. "I would be happy to help you look for any clues, but Lester, it has been five years. There is no shame in moving on. She loved you, she would want to you to move on and be happy."

I try to give her a small smile. "Steph, Beautiful, just promise me you'll keep your trackers and panic button on you and never pull a stunt like you did today. If Ranger puts a shadow on you, just remember that he knows first-hand what can happen."

Stephanie nods, I see the tears swelling behind her eyes.

I finish my last drink of scotch and give Beautiful a hug before heading downstairs. I start doing a mental inventory of my liquor. Beautiful has no idea how bad it really is. I end up bypassing the fourth floor and head down to the second floor gym. When I walk in, Bobby and Tank are already there and dressed to spar. Thank God.

SPOV:

I watched Lester leave the apartment and my heart ached for him. He blames himself and doesn't think he deserves to ever love again. He looked….broken. I look at Ranger and see a sadness in his eyes as well.

Ranger pulls me into his lap as he starts: "Babe, please, promise me that you will let me protect you. I have more resources and skills than I had back then, but so do my enemies. It would kill me to lose you. It would break me. Please, Babe, promise me."

I snuggle into Ranger: "I promise. Trackers, panic button, even the shadow. I won't buck you on it, but please at least tell me you are putting a shadow on me, or whatever other new security measures you come up with. I want to be part of the conversation."

"Agreed."

"Now, about Lester….."

"Babe, what about Lester?"

I give Batman a look. "We have to help him. He deserves someone in his life."

"Babe, he's seen some of the best shrinks, if he doesn't want to move on, you can't make him."

Hmmm…how to get Lester to move on.

A/N: Do you think Lester needs to move on? Is he ready for love? I know where the story is going but I would love to hear your thoughts!


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: This chapter was difficult to write. I knew how I wanted the story to start and end but getting from point A to point B is being a tad difficult. I hope you like it. Hopefully it will only take a couple of chapters to get to the next point in my story line.

Disclaimer: Anything familiar does not belong to me. I am just using them for my own amusement.

SPOV:

I tossed and turned all night. I couldn't get Lester and Hailey out of my head…well except for the times I woke Carlos up. He did a damn good job of taking my train of thought wherever he wanted to take it.

"Babe?" Ranger raises his brow at me from the kitchen counter.

"What?" I ask innocently.

"What are your plans for the day?"

"Well…."

Ranger stands up and walks over to me. "Tread lightly with Lester today. I know you are going to dig, I hope you find something. He probably knows you are going to dig too. I didn't realize her parents had had her declared dead, it has to be hitting him hard. He's come a long way, I don't want to give him false hope."

I nod. "Could you tell me about her then? A last name would also be helpful."

"Her last name is Coldren. We met her when we were at Ft. Campbell for some air assault training. When she graduated, she came to Georgia for college, we were stationed at Ft. Benning. When I got Rachel pregnant, she was the only person to tell me I shouldn't marry her. She told me to step up and be a dad, I owed the child not the mother. She was smart and opinionated and didn't back down. She kept Lester in his place. Shit, she could put us all in our place." Ranger looked at his watch before continuing, "I've got a meeting in ten minutes. If you use Rangeman computers to do any research, ask Hector to cover your tracks. I'm pretty sure Lester still has her name flagged. Come to me if you find anything."

Ranger kissed me and left. I needed to see Hector before I started my search, but first I wanted to check on Lester. I stopped on five, but he wasn't in his office. Cal was on monitor duty and said Lester was off today. I took the stairs to four and knocked on Lester's door. A very hung over Bobby answered the door.

"Shit, not so loudly Bomber." Bobby greeted.

I stepped in and looked around. It must have been a rough night. Lester is setting on the couch looking like crap and eyeing a red Gatorade he is yet to open. They both have bruises on their arms and chest. Bobby is even sporting an impressive bruise to his jaw.

Bobby looks at Lester and nods towards the Gatorade, "Drink."

"Um, I just wanted to check on you." I sit down beside Lester.

"I'm okay Beautiful." Lester wraps his arm around me. "How are you?"

"Lester, you know I'm fine. I'm just glad you trusted me enough to tell me. I want you to know that you are a wonderful person and deserve the best out of life. I'll help you any way I can."

Lester kisses my head. "I know you would Beautiful. I'm lucky to have you in my life." Lester sighs before continuing, "Want to see some pictures?"

I nod. Bobby gets up and retrieves an album. I spend the next hour sitting between them looking at pictures and listening to the stories. After I leave Lester's apartment, I head down to Hector's layer on the second floor.

"Hola, Chica" Hector greets me before I even knock. I explain to Hector what I am needing and why. He smiles, "Good luck Chica, I know if anyone can find something, it would be you." Hector sets it up so that any name alerts come to him first.

I head up to five and get started on my search.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: I am not entirely happy with this chapter, but it got me where I needed to be. ;)

Disclaimer: Anything familiar does not belong to me. I am just using them for my own amusement.

SPOV:

After a solid week of searching, I haven't gotten anywhere in my search for Hailey. Lester was right, it is like she disappeared. After running into dead ends, I tried looking other ways. From my research, though, that is not unusual. Hundreds of thousands disappear each year. I also learned that the US is a top destination to bring those being trafficked. I didn't realize how wide spread it is. I am not giving up hope, but it is obvious this will take a lot of time. Woody would say it is like looking for a needle in a haystack.

In my search, I did find a nonprofit agency in New York City that specializes in helping women who are victims of trafficking. I give them a call. This could be a good first step in helping Lester, and the rest of the guys heal. I know they all feel guilty that they haven't been able to help Hailey. Maybe by helping women like her, Lester will feel a little redemption. After spending two hours on the phone with director of Hope Now, I go in search of Ranger. I need to run this by him first.

I knock on his door.

"Babe."

I open the door. "How did you know it was me?"

"You don't knock as loudly as the guys, and cameras." He smirks as he points to the monitor pulled up on one of his computer screens.

"Do you have a minute?"

"I always have time for you Babe. Shut the door and we'll see just how much time you need." He says with his smirk still in place.

"Ranger…..later. First I need to run something by you." I really really don't want to wait 'til later.

"Shoot Babe." Ranger leans back in his chair, squarely back in business mode. Damn how does he change modes so easily and quickly?

"Well, I haven't been able to find anything on Hailey…."

Ranger nods. I guess he was expecting that.

"But I did find a nonprofit agency in New York, Hope Now, that helps victims of trafficking, and victims of other types of abuse, but they specialize in women who have been trafficked. I thought it might be a good fit for Rangeman for charitable giving and maybe even some community service.

"They offer housing and job training among other things to the women. They are running out of room at their current location and looking for somewhere to expand. They have been looking at Newark since it is close to New York but the property is considerably cheaper.

"I would like to propose a contribution to help get the Newark center up and running. There would also be opportunities, if you and the men are interested, in providing a security system, self-defense training and maybe some job skills.

"Now anyone who volunteers would have to meet with the director first and do a one hour training and agree to some guidelines.

"I think it is a good agency doing a good thing. I also think it could be good for Lester, good for all of you guys. A chance to help women like Hailey."

Ranger nodded. "I like it. I agree that it would be good. It was hard on all of us, especially Lester, not being able to do anything to find or help her. Maybe this would be a little bit of salvation.

"Get all of the information together and you can present it at the core team meeting in the morning."

I smile and jump in his lap. "Now that that is out of the way, how much time do you have?"

Ranger growls, "More than enough." His mouth claims mine.

Shit, I don't think the door is locked. Oh that feels good, and then I'm on the floor.

I don't think about the door again until after we are done and I go to leave. I shoot Ranger a look as I walk out the door. He just shrugs his shoulders and smirks that sexy smirk. I roll my eyes. I need to get busy getting the information together for tomorrow's meeting. I really hope Lester is ok with this idea.

The next morning, I present my idea to the core team. Luckily they all liked the idea. The core team is on board with Rangeman giving financially and providing security for the site in Newark. They are also going to support the men volunteering there and paying them for up to 20 hours each of the time they work there. Each of them also plan on giving money out of their own pockets, I think they are going to completely fund the building project in Newark. I also know they each will volunteer. The volunteering can start now with the men traveling to New York.

When the meeting is over, Lester comes up and give me a hug. He holds me tight as he starts to speak. "Thank you for this Beautiful. I didn't know such a place existed." He kisses my head and holds me for another minute until Ranger comes and steals me.

Once we make it back to my desk, I get on the phone and call Mrs. Stratton at Hope Now. I set up a meeting for the core team and I to travel to New York to get everything set up.

Good things are going to come from this. I can just feel it. I swear, Lester and the guys looked happier just planning ways to help this organization.

A/N: Hope Now is not a real agency. There are different organizations that work at helping these women, but nothing like what I think it should be.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: Anything familiar does not belong to me. I am just using them for my own amusement.

 **6 Months Later**

LPOV:

I am currently stuck in traffic on the turnpike headed to Hope Now in New York. I am going with Woody today. Woody and Binkie have become the regulars to go teach self-defense. Each member of the core team and Steph also come up at least once a month to check things out, volunteer and work on plans for the new facility being built in Jersey. We actually found a really nice place halfway between Newark and Trenton. It should be ready for the ladies to move in to in 2 more months. We will provide security, self-defense and job training at the very least.

Today it is just Woody and I. Binkie is off so I volunteered to come with Woody and help with the class before I meet with Mrs. Stratton.

The past six months have been good. I am finally starting to find some peace. The first time I came, I was sad to really see how many women they serve. Some of these girls were barely eighteen and started out as runaways at young ages. Some came from other countries and barely spoke English or understood what was going on before they were rescued. Some were kidnapped. Some were used as domestic servants others worked in brothels or on the street. Some were "wives".

But in the six months I have been coming here, I have seen some very broken and bruised women find hope, the hope for a better life, their own life. If they can endure the kind of abuse they have been subject to, and hope to move on, so can I, maybe.

We finally arrive and park. After signing in we head straight for the room where we hold the classes. There are seven regular students and each week we have two to five others join. Today we had our regulars, two sometimers and one new student. I have met the woman before, she has been here for about a month. I'm glad she decided to join us. I never want any of these women to feel like victims again, I want them to be empowered to protect themselves. I wish all the women would come to a class, hell, we could swing more classes each week if needed.

After class, Woody goes to the commons area. He has built a rapport with several of the women. I head to Mrs. Stratton's office. We need to discuss which women will move to New Jersey and how each building will be staffed and used going forward. I really hate sitting still and looking at financials and reports, but this is for a good cause. Beautiful has really been spearheading this, so I will take the plans back to her for her approval.

I finally go out to the Commons area in search of Woody. I see several familiar faces nod as I make my way to Woody.

"How's it going?" I ask Woody. He is playing Chess with Mama B. Mama B has been here for over a year and takes it upon herself to get acquainted with everyone who walks through the door.

"Pretty good. There is a new girl, won't talk to anyone" Woody states as he moves a chess piece around and then nods towards the back of a green arm chair. There is a pair of legs sticking out over the arm.

I walk over to the chair and kneel down so I'm not towering over the woman. I reach out and gently take the magazine she is reading. When she looks at me with those whisky colored eyes, I stop breathing. Finally, I find my voice as I rub my thumb over her hand, still staring into those eyes, I whisper:

"Hailey."


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: Anything familiar does not belong to me. I am just using them for my own amusement.

 _Recap:_

 _I walk over to the chair and kneel down so I'm not towering over the woman. I reach out and gently take the magazine she is reading. When she looks at me with those whisky colored eyes, I stop breathing. Finally, I find my voice as I rub my thumb over her hand, still staring into those eyes, I whisper:_

 _"Hailey."_

Hailey sits there frozen, with a look of fear on her face. Shit, why is she afraid of me.

"Hailey, Sunshine, please." I plead reaching up to touch her face. God, I've missed her. When I touch her face, she breaks eye contact and looks down, fidgeting with her hands. I notice the bruising on her jaw and I see bruises on her arms. They are starting to fade, but they are there. "I would never hurt you, I won't let anyone hurt you. Look at me, please."

She still won't look at me, but I notice she is biting her lip as a single tear falls. It is more than I can take. I pull her rigid frame out of the chair and in to my lap on the floor. "I love you. I am loosing you again. Please let me take care of you." I am begging at this point and I don't care. I just want her to look at me, talk to me, trust me, let me take care of her. I'll do anything.

"Mr. Santos?" Mrs. Stratton is giving me a curious look, probably wondering why I am holding a still rigid Hailey, which is most definitely against the rules. Woody is standing behind her, clearly not sure whose side he is on at the moment.

"I know her. I am taking her with me." I've finally found my voice.

Mrs. Stratton looks at Hailey, "Sweetheart, do you know this man?"

"Her name is Hailey." I say.

Mrs. Stratton glares at me and asks again, "Do you know him?" Hailey nods her head yes, and Mrs. Stratton continues, "Do you want to leave with Mr. Santos?"

"Please come with me, back to New Jersey. Bobby is there, and Carlos and Tank. I swear to God, I will keep you safe. Please come with me, Sunshine. I can't lose you again. Please. Will you please come with me?" I am pleading. She gives a miniscual nod.

Mrs. Stratton looks at Hailey and I before nodding her approval. "Hailey, you can always come back here. This will always be a safe place for you if you ever change your mind."

"Do you have anything you need to get before we leave?" I ask her gently. Hailey shakes her head no. I stand us back up and notice she winces. Fucking bastards. I hold her hand to lead her out and Woody follows.

I place Hailey in the back seat and shut the door with Woody watching both of us closely. He finally looks at me says "I hope you know what you're doing."

"Me too. Just drive." I go around and get in the other side, but slide over to the middle to be beside Hailey. I need to touch her to know this isn't a dream. I pick up her hand to hold, she still won't look at me, or anyone from what I've seen. Or speak. Fuck, what have they done to her.

I send a quick text message to the core team: **Meet me on 3, bring Beautiful. I have Hailey, will explain when we get there.**

I don't need to explain further. The fact that we are meeting on three will tell Bobby he needs to check her over. Hell, he'd insist on checking her over anyway. I watch Hailey stare out the window and realize that I have no idea what to do. I wrap my arm arm around her tense shoulders, "I promise you are safe. You are going to be okay." I whisper. I keep repeating this while rubbing her arm and hand until I feel her relax and eventually start to doze off with her head on my shoulder. As fucked up as this is, I feel on top of the world. I have my Sunshine, my light back in my life.

A/N: I'm feeling the need for some violence, so in a few chapters someone is getting hit. I'm taking votes on who you would like to see get knocked out. Morelli? A wayward Merry Man? Ranger? Les? Someone I haven't thought about? Let me know you're vote in the comments. I am loving the reviews! I never thought they would be such a motivation to keep this story going! I love my readers!


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: Anything familiar does not belong to me. I am just using them for my own amusement.

Still LPOV:

When we turn on Haywood, I wake Hailey telling her we are here. When we pull in and the gate starts to close again, she turns to stare at it with pure panic on her face. Sighing I reassure her that the gate will always open for her, it is meant to keep people out, not in. For the first time, I can see how Beautiful feels trapped when we try to keep her here.

We take the waiting elevator to the third floor and walk down the hall to Bobby's office. When we walk in, Hailey stops and stares at the ground. All the guys look at me and all I can do is shrug. Luckily, Bobby steps in.

"Hailey, sweetheart. It is ok. Can I check you out and make sure you're ok? I won't hurt you."

Hailey doesn't answer so I ask: "Will you please let Bobby check you out. We need to see if you are hurt so we can help you. He's only going to look, ok?" Slowly she nods yes, and I help her up on the table. Bobby is quietly talking to her while he checks her over, but she never answers or makes eye contact. Ranger and Tank are standing watching silently, making plans.

"Will you raise your shirt so I can look at your ribs?" I hear Bobby ask Hailey. She instantly wraps her arms around herself and starts shaking her head no. "Ok, ok. It's ok. Will you tell me if they hurt?"

Beautiful walks in with a Coke and a chocolate bar. She smiles at Hailey and introduces herself: "Hi, I am Stephanie, you can call me Steph. You must be Hailey, I'm glad I get to get to know you. I've heard a lot about you from Ranger, Les and the guys. Oh, here, I thought you might want some real food." She hand Hailey the coke and bar and winks at her.

Hailey looks at the food she's been given and then looks up at Steph and in a barely audible whisper says, "Thanks." Of course Beautiful could get her to talk.

"Is Bobby checking done checking you out? When you're done, you can get a shower, or we could get food?" Steph continues.

"Let Bobby look at your ribs. I know they are hurting, you winced earlier when I touched them." I try.

Bobby jumps in, "I just need you to raise your shirt to here. I can give you something for pain if you'd like." Bobby gestures to just under her breast. Hailey nods and raises her shirt, but shuts her eyes tight. I clench my fist and fight the urge to pound everyone when I see the bruising, a quick look at her back sends another wave of anger through me. Bobby is muttering and cussing under his breath as well. Rage is radiating off Ranger and Tank. Beautiful, just waits for Bobby to get done and smiles at Hailey when she opens her eyes.

"I'm pretty sure you have a broken rib and lots of deep bruising, but I don't see any signs of internal bleeding. I've made you an appointment with a female doctor I know for tomorrow to finish getting checked out." Bobby

"Max is coming tomorrow afternoon to talk to you as well. He's our psychologist." Tank adds.

Ranger jumps in next: "You are more than welcome to stay here as long as you want, forever. We have an open apartment on four you can have…."

"Or you can stay with me." I glare at Ranger.

"….or you can stay with Lester. There are a lot of men in the building, but I promise they won't hurt or bother you. If you aren't comfortable staying here, we have several safe houses you can use." He continues.

"I don't want to be any trouble." Hailey whispers.

"Look at me." I tilt her face up. "You aren't any trouble. I would like it if you stayed with me, or let me stay with you. Wherever you want to be, wherever you are comfortable, that is where I want to be. I can sleep on a couch or on the floor or just about anywhere else."

"I'll stay here." She says. We are making progress. We all head down to my apartment. Steph convinces her to take a nice hot shower and change into some clothes Ella must have gotten for her while we wait for pizzas to be delivered. Ranger and Tank go give orders for the men to give Hailey room. The last thing we want is for her to feel threatened here.

After everyone leaves, I send Hailey to sleep in my bed. She tries to take the couch, but I'm not having it. I lie down, but I'm restless. Hell, I'm afraid this is a dream and I'm going to wake up and she will be gone. I give up, and tip toe into my room and stand in the doorway. I look at her small frame curled up in a ball on the edge of my large bed. I realize she isn't asleep.

"Hailey, are you ok?" I walk over and sit down beside the bed.

"I don't sleep at night." Is her reply. I'm actually afraid to ask why.

"Want to come watch a movie with me in living room?"

She nods, and I help her out of bed and lead her into the living room. I pick a comedy for us to watch and sit beside her. Tomorrow is going to be a rough day between the doctor and Max. At least we might end on a happy note, I know Hector has her a phone, laptop and tablet waiting when we get back tomorrow.

Eventually Hailey starts to nod off, but she lets me tuck her in to me. That is how we stayed all night. Best sleep I've gotten in years.


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: Anything familiar does not belong to me. I am just using them for my own amusement.

Still LPOV (I promise I'm going to switch again soon):

It has been four rough days. After that first night, Hailey has shut down completely except to make me go to work. She had Max tell me after our session that if I didn't "continue on with my life, she will go back to New York." So I go to five, I won't guarantee I'm actually accomplishing anything. Currently, I'm sitting in Ranger's personal conference room with the rest of the core team and junior management discussing accounts, schedules and other mundane things when there is a knock on the door.

"Enter" Ranger barks. Hal opens the door nervously looking around the room. No one ever interrupts Ranger's meetings unless it is life or death, or they like mat time. "Report" Ranger growls.

"Um, Hailey sir" Hal starts stammering. "She just took off down the stairs, bypassed the fourth and third floors. I, um, think something upset her. Binkie is following."

We are all up and moving. As we cross the control room towards the stairs, Tank asks for another report.

Vince answers, "She hit the garage at a flat run and is about to clear the gate, too late to close it. Manny is now following with Binkie. Would you like them to stop her?"

"No!" I roar. I don't want anyone putting their hands on her. "Find out what the fuck happened." Then I take off with Brown, Woody and Ram on my heels.

We catch up to Binkie and Manny in a little over a block. I make it to Hailey just in time to grab her before she runs out in front of a bus. Shit, she is sobbing so hard she couldn't talk if she wanted. While I hold her, the guys take up positions to watch our backs and encourage other pedestrians to use the other side of the street. Bobby catches my eye and gives me a look that clearly asks "What the fuck happened and what now?"

Eventually the sobs soften and I pick her up and carry her the two blocks back to Rangeman. Bobby follows us to my apartment. As soon as I sit down with her, she gets up and moves to sit on the floor along the wall.

I kneel down in front of her. "Hailey talk to me. What happened?"

"Go to work." She says quietly without ever looking at me.

"I am not leaving. You're obviously upset, just tell me why." I work hard to keep the frustration out of my voice.

"Just go to work." She says again. There is a knock at the door and Bobby goes to answer it. Steph walks in and sits down beside Hailey on the floor handing Hailey one of the cokes she brought down with her.

Hailey mumbles as "Thank You."

"Are you ok?" Steph asks her. Hailey nods yes.

"Is it ok if I hang out here for a while?" Steph asks still addressing Hailey. I just watch in amazement, how does Beautiful do it?

When Hailey nods yes again, Steph addresses Bobby and I: "I can stay here for a while. Why don't you go finish your meeting with Ranger?" Beautiful is kicking me out of my own apartment. I sigh and tell Hailey I'll be back shortly, then Bobby and I head up to five to see if they found out what upset Hailey.

SPOV:

Once the guys leave I ask Hailey if she wants to talk about it. She shakes her head a definitive no, so we sit in silence for a while longer.

"You know you had a lot of people worried about you when you took off like that." I start. Yes, I'm well aware of the irony and how many times I've ran and had people worried about me. I think this may have just cured me from running ever again.

"They should have just let me run."

"You almost ran out in front of a bus. Tell me why you ran, you can trust me. I won't tell anyone if you don't want, but maybe I can help you."

"I never should have come here. Nobody wants me here and I'm just messing up the lives of the people I care about." Hailey starts crying.

"That's not true." I reason.

"Yes it is. Every time I walk in a room, it clears out. No one will even look at me or talk to me. When I finished with Max today, he encouraged me to go up to five for a while, go somewhere other than the apartment. I went in to the break room and both guys in there eating, immediately got up and left." She is almost sobbing. "I am fucking up Lester's life, I don't know why he feels the need to take care of me; I am not his responsibility. Not only is he letting me crash here and missing work because of me, but he had some guy bring me this stuff." She points at the phone, tablet and laptop that Hector probably brought.

"Lester loves you." I counter.

"How can he love me? It's been almost six years. I know he had moved on, and he should have. I used to dream about finding him again, but I thought I would be back to normal. Hell, I have a panic attack over anything. I am constantly worried that I'm going to make someone upset. What if I am not healing fast enough? What if I start to rely on Lester and Bobby and Ranger and Tank and they get tired of me? I don't want to be a fucking obligation. I should have stayed in New York. It sounds crazy, but life was easier before I… before I got out. At least I knew what was expected of me. Now I just wish I was dead. That is why when I saw the bus, I ran straight for it. Death would be better for everyone." She finishes quietly.

Did I just hear that right? Did she just say she wanted to get hit by the bus? Shit. "Hailey, are you telling me that you wanted the bus to hit you?"

"Yeah."

Shit. Shit. Shit. "Um, Hailey, I know I promised I wouldn't tell anyone, but I have to tell the guys, and Max. At least the part about the bus. I'm sorry, but I don't want anything to happen to you. I care about you."

Hailey shrugs her shoulders as she says "They are going to hate me." and starts crying heavily again.

I send a text message to the guys to get Max to come back and then for them all to come down to Lester's apartment. I'll sit here till then. No need to put her through my having to tell this twice.

A/N: I promise the violence is coming in 2 more chapters. I got so many great ideas on who to hit, that several people will get what they got coming to them! We'll also learn more about Hailey's past five and a half years and start to get in her head and get her point of view in coming chapters. So stay tuned!


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: Anything familiar does not belong to me. I am just using them for my own amusement.

A/N: So, I'm getting the vibe that I need to speed this up, so this chapter may be a little longer, but I'm trying to get to where I feel you guys want to be. Sorry, I get lost in the details. Review and let me know!

Oh and SMUT WARNING.

Still SPOV:

After about 45 minutes the guys come down to the apartment. I'm sure they were waiting for Max to be able to come back. Ranger spots my coke and gives me a smirk as he says: "Those things are going to kill you babe." Poor choice of words Ranger, poor choice of words.

The guys aren't sure what to do, as Hailey and I are still sitting on the floor. Tank mutters a "Shit" as they all sit down. The guys are all looking from me to Hailey, except Max, he is only looking at Hailey. Finally, Ranger looks at me and raises his one damn eye brow.

"Now might be a good time for you guys to use that blank face that I normally hate." I start. I get questioning looks, but all the guys school their features, not that I'm sure it matters, Hailey still hasn't looked at them.

"So, um, Hailey and I were talking and…." I take a deep breath "….and she sort of meant to run in front of the bus."

All of their eyes were on Hailey. While their faces might have been blank, they couldn't hide the worry and stress in their eyes. I also saw more than one of them clench their fist. Max was the first one to speak: "Hailey, is this true?" When Hailey nodded her head yes, Max continued: "Can you tell me why?" To this, Hailey shook her head no.

"Can I tell him?" I ask. Hailey shrugs her shoulders. I can tell she wants to be anywhere but here. "Maybe we should step outside to talk about this." I tell them. Ranger nods, and stands but takes out his phone and calls Woody to come down. When Woody arrives, he talks to him quietly before motioning for the rest of us to follow him out and up to five.

Once we are in Ranger's conference room, I tell them about how the guys leaving the room, every time Hailey walks in makes her think she isn't wanted here. I also tell them about some of her fears that she mentioned.

"Ranger, you've dealt with guys with PTSD for years, you know they need to feel accepted. Why did you order the guys to stay away from her?" asks Max.

"I wasn't thinking PTSD, I was thinking I didn't want her to feel threatened in a secure building with lots of large men. I'll change the order to our PTSD protocol, with some revisions."

"I have to put her on a 48 hour suicide watch, I assume you are going to handle that here?" Max asks.

"Yes." Growls Lester.

Max nods. "Maybe put some of your men who have dealt with PTSD on her detail, and the ones who did the training at Hope Now. They have a good program, you might want to think about using some of their techniques as well. Call me if you need anything, otherwise I'll come check on Hailey tomorrow. She can call me anytime if she wants as well."

After Max left, Ranger sent me up to seven. He said he'd be late tonight. I know the guys have a lot to work out. Ranger looked like he was in need of some stress relief though, maybe I can have a surprise waiting on him…..in the form of me and this little piece of lingerie I've been saving.

LPOV:

What. The. Fuck. How am I screwing this up so much that not only did Hailey run, but she actually wants to end her life? Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. I have visions of breaking everything around me, including some skulls.

We agree to go through my apartment in waves, looking for and locking up anything that she can use to harm herself. Bobby and I take the first wave. When we walk in, Hailey has moved to the arm chair. She watches as we lock up the knives and cleaners in the kitchen and then move to the bedroom and bathroom.

Once we are done, Ranger and Tank go through, looking for things we missed. Finally, I asked Cal and Ram to go through. They've both had bouts of PTSD and depression and have even been on suicide watch themselves.

After Tank and Ranger make their sweep through, the four of us head down to gym. We are all on edge. Ranger clears out the few guys in the gym at this hour and cuts the cameras. We beat the shit out of each other, then drank a case of beer while we talked about life. We haven't had time for many nights like this since we started Rangeman.

By the end of the night, we were still on edge, but it is bearable again. Bobby offers to go back to my apartment with me, but I decline. Woody is still there and Hailey will probably be in bed by now. Tomorrow is a new day right?

RangerPOV: **SMUT starts here, just skip this entire POV if you're not a fan**

After leaving the gym, I head up to seven. I'm sure babe is already in bed asleep. I plan on taking a hot shower and hopefully climbing in bed to hold her naked form. I need my woman, I need to be inside my woman, but I won't wake her. Holding her is enough.

I walk through the door and put my keys in the dish by the door.

"Ranger?" Steph call from the bedroom. She waited up for me, I'm a lucky man I walk in the bedroom and realize just how lucky I am.

Steph is laying in our bed wearing a red skimpy lace corset, thongs and heels. She was holding on the head board with her hands above her head and her ankles crossed. She looks so seductive yet innocent. Damn, I love this woman. I hear a low growl come from deep within me. No words are needed between us as I strip and move over top of her. I look deep in her eyes and trace the top of the corset over her chest before I untie the lace and rip them out in one pull. My mouth covers one of her newly visible pink nipples while I work to completely remove the offending piece of clothing. When I bite down on her nipple, she arches her back off the bed begging for more. I'm not sure how gentle I can be right now, but it looks like my woman is looking for gentle anyway.

When I rip her scrappy little thongs off and trail my finger over her sensitive clit, she reaches for me. I immediately stop and place her hands back over her head and order her to keep them there. She nods and bites her lip. Damn that lip, I want to bite to it, so I do. I am rewarded with a moan from my woman.

I head back down to the promise land and am amazed at how wet she is. I am running out of patience, I need to be inside her, to feel her, to show her how much I need, want and love her. I flip her over and move her onto her knees, making sure she continues to hold on to the head board. I nip her neck and enter her in one motion, making her clench around me. "Mine!" I growl out before I begin muttering in Spanish. This is my woman and I can't lose her. Ever. Finally I bring her to her release and then I follow after her. I hold her close and tell her how much I need and lover her before we both drift off to sleep.

**END OF SMUT**

LPOV:

When I get back up to my apartment, I'm surprised to see Hailey is still sitting in the arm chair.

"Oh my God, what happened to you?" Hailey asks jumping up out of the chair. She comes over to the door and takes my hand and starts pulling me towards the kitchen. She fixes an ice pack and then hops up on the counter to start applying it to my eye. Tank has a mean left hook. "Are you ok?" she asks, obviously concerned. All I can do is nod. I'm speechless. Is this the same woman that I left a few hours ago? The same woman who tried to run in front of a bus just hours ago? I hear the door close quietly, Woody leaving I assume. I can't take my eyes off of her, and she is yet to take her eyes off of me. "What happened?" Hailey asks, taking stock of my other visible bruises.

"It's nothing. I was just sparring with the guys." She is still sitting on the counter and I'm holding on to the counter on either side of her.

"These bruises aren't nothing." She grumbles. "You're hurt."

I reach up and run my thumb over her fading bruise on her chin. It has faded a lot, but it is still there. She still at my touch and her gaze meets mine. The next thing I know, I'm leaning in and gently kissing her lips. "I'm sorry." I say pulling back. She looks sad, almost hurt. "Sunshine, I want to kiss you, every second of every day. But I don't want to push you, I'm not sure what to do here." I confess. Hailey looks at me for just a beat before she leans in and finds my lips again. It isn't a lustful kiss, but it is full of emotion and need from both of us.

When we finally break apart, I rest my forehead on hers. "Tell me what to do."

"I can't tell you what to do, I don't know what to do. I'd tell you to trust me, but I don't think that's an option after today." She says with a half-smile. This is my sunshine. This is proof that she is still in there.

"Can I pick you up?" I ask?

"Yes. You don't have to ask. I like it when you hold me. Does that mean I'm completely screwed up? Am I supposed to not want to be touched by anyone?"

I growl with pride that she wants me to hold her as I pick her up and move us to the couch. We spend the next hour talking and me trying to put her fears to rest and gain her trust. I notice she is starting to yawn a lot and getting quiet. She must be completely drained from today. "Sunshine, you are falling asleep on me, go to bed."

"Come with me?" she asks. Like I would say no.

After we are in bed, I kiss her head and say: "Anything you want, anything you need, I'm yours. I love you. Remember that, no matter what. I will go anywhere and do anything for you. I am yours."


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: Anything familiar does not belong to me. I am just using them for my own amusement.

LPOV:

I wake up to the sun shining in my window. I look over and realize Hailey is awake. She is no longer in my arms buy lying beside me in bed. I wonder how long she has been awake. I can't read the look on her face. "Hailey?" She looks at me with those eyes and gives me a half grin that I'm not buying. "Are you ok?" I ask as I reach out to touch her, thankful when she doesn't pull away or even flinch.

"Yeah, I'm just thinking."

"Want to tell me what you're thinking?" I'm hopeful that she will share what is going on in her head, but she shakes her head no. "Ok" I say with a sigh. "What do you want to do today?"

"You are going to work."

"Hailey…." I start, "Please don't push me away. They don't need me on five. I have more than enough time to take off. Hell, I could never work again and we'd be fine. Let me stay with you today." I'm not quite whining.

Haile looks over at me and holds my gaze for a minute before giving me that half grin again. "I need you to go to work. I've got some things I need to figure out on my own."

I don't think there is a damn thing this woman will ever need to figure out without me. I plan to have her at my side in whatever capacity she'll have me for the rest of my life. However, I know this may not be worth the fight right now. At least she is communicating and not withdrawing. So I sigh as I give in, "Fine. Cal will be here with you today. I'll be on five all day if you need anything. I think Carlos, Tank and Bobby will be around too. Max is coming this afternoon." She nods her head. I give her a lingering kiss on the forehead before getting up to take my shower.

Cal arrives promptly at 8AM. Hailey is up, eating a bowl of cereal and looking at her tablet. I give her a kiss on the cheek and ask again if she wants me to stay. She of course says no, so I give her another kiss on her ear as I whisper "Pídeme para quedarse, por favor. Yo soy tuyo y si Dios quiere, un día serás mía. Te amo." (Ask me to stay, please. I am yours and God willing, one day you will be mine. I love you.)

Hailey turns to me and kisses my nose as she tells me "Go. I'll be fine."

Fine. I huff a little in frustration as I tell her bye. I give Cal a glare before walking out the door, no more instructions are needed. His health and life expectancy will be based on his ability to keep Hailey safe, physically and mentally. I head up to five for a Core team meeting before the staff meeting.

The rest of Core team is already there when I arrive. Bobby and Tank are obviously still edgy. Ranger looks to be back to his relaxed and calm self. I sit down in a chair and stretch out, putting my boots on Ranger's desk as I say, "I am warning you now, the prank master is back."

Ranger groans and shoves my boots off his desk as he asks "Did you get a concussion last night, because I think you got dumber."

"I want more mat time." I explain.

Ranger raises his eyebrow and says "Explain."

I fill the guys in on Hailey's response last night when I got back. Bobby actually started chuckling as he said "Shit. Now there is no stopping his childish bull shit."

"I can give you mat time without the stupidity." Offered Tank.

"Nah, I'd rather earn my mat time." I said with a smile. The rest of the guys groaned as I started planning my first prank. Hmmm, maybe I'd start with Steph. She is always fun to make turn red anyway. Eventually we headed in to the staff meeting to discuss the new protocols for dealing with Hailey.

After lunch, I am in Ranger's office with the rest of the core team reviewing resumes for new hire candidates when there is a knock at the door.

"Enter." Ranger barks his usual command without ever looking up.

Hal opens the door, looking nervous. It's de ja vu and I am already on my feet.

Ranger eyes him and tenses as he growls "Report." We are all expecting the worst and ready to move. Spit it out already Hal.

"Um, it's Hailey sir." Hal stammers. The death glares must have gotten to him because he quickly finished "She has left the apartment, she is on the third floor."

"My office?" Bobby asks. Standing to head down to three.

"Um, no sir. It appears that she is headed to the gym." Hal says.

"Cal?" I ask.

"He is with her." After a beat Hal adds, "We, uh, weren't sure what the protocol would be for this, since she's on, um, watch."

"Dismissed." Tank bellows and Hal leaves.

I sit down. Hailey has never been much of a gym type person. I look at Ranger and raise an eyebrow. He starts pulling up the cameras in the gym. Hailey gets on an empty treadmill and starts running. Not the best idea to start running without warming up, but not the worst idea she's had in the last 24 hours either. Cal has went to the weights to give her some room, but still be close enough to monitor what she is doing.

After she ran for a few minutes she got off and started looking around the mostly empty gym before heading over to one of the heavy bags. She just looks at it for a few minutes. Cal puts down his weights and goes over to talk to her. After talking to her for a bit, he holds the bag and I watch as my Sunshine delivers a beautiful round house kick. Where the fuck did she learn to do that? Fuck that was hot and now I am hard. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

A/N: So I had planned on someone getting hit in this chapter but my fingers had a mind of their own. So, I've moved it to the next chapter. I promise it will be there and it should be up Saturday or Sunday. I've worked out several people getting a little justice in the coming chapters. Is there anything else you would really like to see?


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: Anything familiar does not belong to me. I am just using them for my own amusement.

LPOV:

It has been three days and I think Hailey is getting better, slowly. She is still mostly quiet, but not completely withdrawn and sometimes she shocks the shit out of me and I see the old Hailey. Technically, she should have been off of suicide watch yesterday, but today is her follow up with the gynecologist, and the last appointment was horrible for her. I know she is dreading today because she is back to shaking her head and avoiding eye contact.

At 11AM we head down to the garage with Bobby. When we get there, Steph has the hood of her car up and Woody and Ranger are looking at her battery.

"It is definitely your battery sweetheart. How old is this thing?" drawls Woody.

"I don't know, it came with the car. Great. Just great." Steph says while kicking her car door.

"I can fix it." Says Woody. "If your hell bent on keeping this piece of crap, I'll go pick you up another battery and have you up and running in about an hour."

"I need my car now. I've got skips to pick up and I promised Grandma I'd take her to get her hair done."

"Here." Ranger says, handing her a set of keys to one of his cars. "Drive mine today, your car will be ready tomorrow. Or we can go car shopping, for one that isn't a piece of shit."

"I can't take your car. I'm picking up Mr. Taylor. He likes to piss in the car, and that's if I don't get it blown up. I've managed to not have to borrow a car in almost three months. I really really wanted to keep that streak going." Steph is almost whining.

We are all startled when Hailey speaks up, "Is this your coke?" She has picked up Steph's coke from the top of the car.

"Yeah" Steph answers, "Do you want me to get you one?"

Hailey shakes her head no and picks up the coke and walks around to the front of the car. Ranger and Woody step back slightly to give her room. We are all curious what this is about. She pours the coke over the old corroded battery, and the coke eats away at the corrosion. Once most of the corrosion is gone, she hooks the battery back up and says, "Try starting it now."

Steph looks horrified but gets in the car and it turns over. "I'll be damned." Woody smirks. "I'll have to remember that one."

Steph is back out and hugs Hailey as she says "Thank You!"

"You still need a new battery, but it should make you to the auto parts store, maybe even farther." Hailey advises as she hands Steph back her coke.

Steph looks at the coke and wrinkles up her nose, then turns and hands it to Ranger. "Here. This might actually kill me."

Ranger full out barked laughter as he says, "Babe."

Woody agrees to follow Steph to the auto parts store before she starts her day. Steph asks if we want to meet up for lunch later and we agree to see how the doctor appointment goes and call her.

The doctor appointment goes pretty well. The lady doctor was an army doctor and an ER doctor before becoming an OBGYN, so she is treating all of Hailey's injuries, along with Bobby. Hailey is healing physically in all areas, though she will have some scars. Emotionally, today was rough for her again, but at least there was no screaming today, just gut wrenching sobs. Both Bobby and I are surprised when she says she still wants to go to lunch.

I call Steph and we agree to meet at Shorty's in thirty minutes. We head that direction and Hailey curls up next to me in the back seat. When we arrive at Shorty's, we get out and start walking towards the door, when Hailey just stops.

"We don't have to do this. We can go back to Rangeman." I say, stepping into her line of sight. The last thing I want is to push her too far.

She shakes her head no and says, "I need to do this."

"Not today you don't. It hasn't been that long Sunshine. You don't have to push yourself." Now I'm standing just inches in front of her.

Hailey insists on going through with this lunch, and Bobby and I let her, against our better judgement. We go take our preferred booth in the back and Steph arrives shortly afterwards. We are half way through our lunch and Hailey hasn't said two words or even finished one slice of pizza. She is just looking around with a bit of panic in her eyes. I put my arm around her, trying to comfort and ground her. I look back up, to see Joseph Morelli strut through the front door.

Morelli spots us and head over while the guy he is with, goes to place their order. "Cupcake." He greets.

"Joe." Steph answers back.

He eyes the rest of the table and grins as he says "Looks like you're no longer enough for Ranger and his men, Cupcake. I always knew he'd get tired of you. Are you showing the new whore the ropes?"

When his words registered in my brain, I snap. Suddenly Morelli is on the ground and one of my hands are around his throat and my other fist is pounding in to his face. Repeatedly. The crunch of his bones and sight of his blood aren't satisfying enough for me and I start to entertain thoughts of all the ways I can hurt him. Finally, Beautiful's screaming starts registering in my brain as well as Bobby trying to pull me up. I get to my feet and look around.

"We need to go now!" Bobby demands.

I look at Hailey still sitting in the booth looking shocked and scared. I pick her up and follow Bobby and Steph to our SUV. Steph leaves her car here and gets into the front seat next to Bobby. As we pull off, I turn to Hailey beside me. I'm trying to shake the adrenaline high so I can apologize. The last thing I wanted was to scare her. Apparently my body continues to have a mind of its own, because while I'm trying to find the right words, my lips found hers. I still when I realized I'm taking and invading her mouth. Then I hear myself growl and moan when she deepens the kiss, lightly nipping at my lip. The much needed kiss and caresses last the entire way to Rangeman.

A/N: =) This is just the tip of the iceberg. ;) Reviews are always appreciated. I never realized how important they would be to keep me motivated.


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: Anything familiar does not belong to me. I am just using them for my own amusement.

LPOV:

Once we arrived at Rangeman we headed straight for five. Of course the entire control room had already heard about the encounter, not that any of them minded. Most wished it had been them to finally beat the cop.

Tanks voice boomed out, "If it hadn't been Morelli you hit in broad day light in a public place causing me all kinds of phone calls and paper work, I'd take you to the mats. Ranger wants to see you in his office."

We follow Tank to Ranger's office and through to Rangers private conference room. Once we are there, Ranger gives me a fist bump, my cousin can't be pissed about this.

"The police are already on their way to pick you up. We have fifteen minutes." Ranger starts.

"I am not going tonight. Tell them I'm not here, hell I won't be here. I'll turn myself in tomorrow morning." No way in hell am I going tonight. They will hold me overnight before they give me bail and I'm not leaving Hailey for that long without making damn sure she will be taken care of.

"You beat the shit out of a cop, I doubt they are going to wait for you to turn yourself in." Ranger states. "I can deny them access to the building until they get a search warrant. I've already called our lawyer." He was rubbing his face, the only sign of stress he ever shows.

"Call in whatever fucking favor you need to call in, or buy me a little time and I'll go to a safe house. This is non-negotiable." I growl while giving him a cold stare.

"Maybe I can help." Pipes up Steph. She excuses herself into Ranger's office to make a call. We discuss possible safe houses while she is gone. I notice Hailey is starting to withdraw and cuss myself for having her up here for all this. Thankfully, Steph returns quickly.

"Ok, I pulled some strings and the chief is expecting you in his office tomorrow morning at 8am sharp. He will have the DA there well. Hopefully, you can get booked and bailed out quickly." Steph says. Ranger calls the attorney and he agrees to meet us here at 7:30. We talk for a few minutes and then dismiss until the morning. It looks like the entire core team in going tomorrow plus Beautiful.

When we get downstairs, I pull Hailey to sit beside me. She has been quiet, too quiet. Did I scare her when I punched the cop? Is she regretting the kiss? Was today just too much for her? I don't even know where to start. "Sunshine, I'm sorry about today. It's not how I wanted today to go. Talk to me, please."

"I'm ok." Hailey whispers. I'm not buying it, but she has had a rough day and I don't want to push her. I'm glad she has been spending time with Cal, Woody and Ram since we will all be out of the office most of the day tomorrow.

The next morning, I get up and get dressed and am surprised when Hailey does the same.

"I am going with you." She explains to my questioning look.

"I am not sure that is a good idea…" I start.

"I was there, I want to go."

"I don't think that is a good idea. Woody is going to stay with you today and I'll be back this evening."

"I don't need a babysitter, and I am going." Now she has her hand on her hips. The woman is stubborn. Shit, she's telling me what she wants too.

"Fine. But Woody is coming too in case it gets to be too much."

With that we head up to five and then down to the garage, piling in to our SUV's. Once we arrive at police station, we are taken straight back to the chief's office. I can't hold back the smirk when I see Morelli sitting there with two black eyes, one swollen shut, a busted nose and impressive bruising to his jaw. I heard a rumor that he has a concussion and is on light duty for the next few weeks.

"Mr. Manoso, Mr. Santos." Greets the chief. "This was a favor to the mayor to let you come in here today. Anyone else assaulted my officers like this and they would be feeling the wrath of the entire department. Mr. Gnames is our D.A. and will handle the case for us."

"We thank you for the courtesy, I can assure you there are extenuating circumstances." Starts my attorney.

"Mr. Santos hit a police officer repeatedly in a public place. The charge is assault of a police officer, no less. He can be bailed out today and take his chances with a judge, or sign this plea deal and serve one week, 200 hours of community service, take anger management classes and be on probation for a year." States the D.A.

"He didn't introduce himself as a cop." Interjects Hailey, startling us all.

"Sweetheart, I don't know you, but trust me, these men know that Detective Morelli is a police officer." Explains the chief.

"So he was acting in an official capacity when he called Stephanie and I names?" Asked Hailey. At this point my attorney started smiling even though the rest of us seemed to be confused.

"Oh come on! Steph and I have a relationship! Our business is our business." Stupidly says the cop.

Sighing, the DA says "You can't have it both ways Detective. Either you insulted these women while in an official capacity or it's a personal matter."

"Personal" huffed the cop.

"Ok. Then the amended charges are simple assault, probation and anger management classes." Offers the DA.

"Fine." states my attorney. "However, Mr. Morelli instigated this event and has been harassing Ms. Plum and Rangeman employees for a while now. I also want charges filed on him for simple assault, slander and harassment. I believe that even though he was not acting on behalf of the police department at the time these events happened, it is department policy to suspend any officer charged with a crime pending an internal affairs review. I believe his actions will be found to be 'unbecoming of an officer'."

Mr. Gnames looks at the chief and then at Morelli. Morelli's face is red and looks like he is about to explode. Finally the chief speaks, "Detective Morelli, it is in your best interest and the interest of the department to drop the charges against Mr. Santos. In addition, you are not to go near Mr. Santos, Ms. Plum or any other member of Rangeman unless it is directly related to your job. Do you understand?"

"Yes sir." Mumbles the cop and then he gets up and leaves.

Maybe things are starting to look up.

A/N: =) Hmm….are things going to calm down? Is it time for fun? What IS going to happen next? (I am doing my evil laugh)


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: Anything familiar does not belong to me. I am just using them for my own amusement.

I want to thank you guys for the reviews! It is what keeps me motivated and the reason I am up writing and posting this after everyone else is in bed. I can always count on you Shellbell!

LPOV:

It has been a busy couple of weeks. The cop hasn't been seen since our meeting with the chief. I've heard through the grape vine that he decided to take a vacation since he was on light duty anyway. Maybe he'll find a place he loves and move there. Yeah, I'm not that lucky.

The new Hope Now shelter is set to open next week and we've all been busy helping with that. The project is also keeping Hailey busy which keeps her from thinking too much. Damn, what I wouldn't give to get ten minutes in her head to see what she is really thinking.

Later today a team from the Miami branch is coming up for some routine training and will stay through the next two weeks so we can focus on getting Hope Now New Jersey up and running. Ranger is also going to offer them the opportunity to train with Hope Now in hopes of eventually setting up something similar in Miami.

When the team from Miami arrives they have a meeting with core team to go over the training schedule and assignments for the next two weeks. Normally, the training would happen in Miami, but now isn't a good time for us to be away. The men can deal with it. After our meeting the men disperse, except Ramone and Marco. Marco is Ranger's brother and Ramone is a friend of ours from our days as teenagers in Miami. We crack open some beers from Ranger's hidden fridge and start catching up.

"So what is the real reason we are having our training here instead of Miami bro?" asks Marco

"Just poor timing with Hope Now opening next week. Makes more sense for you to come here." Ranger answers

"Come on, if that was the reason, you could have just moved the training forward or back by a few weeks. What, did you finally knock up Steph?" Ramone pushes.

"No." Growls Ranger with a death stare. "You would do good to keep your mouth shut about my personal life."

"We just have a lot going on right now, personally and professionally, we couldn't afford to send two of us down there, much less all of us." Bobby tries to smooth it over.

Marco just raises his eyebrow and Ramone shakes his head. Shit, Marco is family and Ramone is my brother from way back. I should just tell them. "Hailey is here." I state. Marco chokes on his beer and Ramone's mouth drops open.

"Hailey is here? In this building?" Ramone asks.

"Son of a bitch. When did you find her? How did you find her?" Marco follows up. "Where is she?"

"A little over a month ago. It is not public knowledge, so keep your mouths shut." I warn. Hailey's life is not going to be a topic of discussion or Rangeman gossip.

"Man, I think it is time to go." Ramone says standing up and finishing his beer.

Marco nods his head in agreement and they leave Ranger's office. I raise my eyebrow at Ranger and he just shrugs his shoulder. Marco was never one to stay still for too long. Tank opens his mouth to say something, when Ranger's door crashes open.

"Hailey just passed out. Control room floor." Manny reports.

A/N: =) I apologize about this being a short chapter. I promise to make it up to you. Hmmm..Why did Hailey pass out? Any guesses?

I originally planned for this to be a fluff chapters, but apparently my fingers don't listen to my brain. Oh well.


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: Anything familiar does not belong to me. I am just using them for my own amusement.

 _"Hailey just passed out. Control room floor." Manny reports._

LPOV:

I hit the control room floor and see Hailey on the ground surrounded by Steph, Woody and Ram. Hector and Cal have Marco and Ramone against the wall. Marco is quiet and relaxed, Ramone is mouthing off.

"Report!" barks Ranger from behind me. Bobby and I continue over to Hailey.

"Hailey and Steph came up on the elevator, the door opened, they stepped off. Hailey went down. Ramone and Marco were directly in front of her." Cal reported.

"Heart rate and breathing were elevated but are returning to normal. No twitching. Unconscious for 64 seconds." Ram followed.

"Let me go you fucking idiot. I didn't do anything. Ranger, you need to fire this dill weed, putting his hands on me." Ramone was ranting. Looking over at Hector holding Marco he continued. "And you Esse, that is Ranger's brother, you better let up right now."

"No me importa uncarajo quien es. Miro a usted antes de que ella cayo al suelo. Yo la protejo." Came Hector's log growl response. (I don't give a fuck who he is. She looked at you before she went down. I protect her.)

"She appears to be stable. Let's move her to your office so she isn't overwhelmed when she wakes up. If she is out for more than 10 minutes, she goes to three. Thirty minutes and she goes to the hospital." Brown said to me. I just nod and pick her up in my arms. Bobby follows me to my office and shut the door. I sat on my couch holding my Sunshine for the longest three and a half minutes before she starts coming around.

When she opens her eyes, she looks so confused. "Sweetheart, Sunshine, are you ok?" She nods, looking around. Suddenly she goes still and breathes in sharply. "What happened?" She just shakes her head and starts trying to climb out of my lap. I am not ready to let her go yet, but refuse to restrain her in any way, so I watch sadly as she moves to the other end of the couch.

"How are you feeling? Can I take a listen?" Bobby seamlessly moves in to do his medic thing. After confirming that her heart rate and breathing are normal, Bobby tries again. "Ok, what happened? Have you been feeling ok?"

"I'm fine." She mumbles, not making eye contact.

"Flashback?" Bobby asks evenly. Hailey shakes her head. "Did you see or hear something that scared you?"

Hailey curls up tighter in her corner of the couch and I see the tears starting to pool in her eyes when she glances at the door. I get up and move in front of her, taking her hands in mine. "I will not let anyone hurt you. Tell me what happened, please." I am silently begging her to talk to me. I swear if Marco or Ramone triggered this, they won't ever see the light of day again, family or not.

"I am not sure." She finally answers.

"What are you not sure of?" I ask. Hailey just shrugs her shoulders.

"What are you afraid of, sweetheart?" She just shakes her head. I sigh in frustration. I want to straight up ask her if Marco and Ramone ever hurt her, but I don't want to lead her. "Do you want to go back down to the apartment? We could watch a movie and relax." The tears began to fall and she shakes her head harder.

"Please don't make me go back out there." She is sobbing. I pick her up and place her back in my lap. I look helplessly at Bobby who just shrugs. Neither of us know what to do.

"Sunshine, I'll never make you do anything, but I don't know how long we can survive in here." Actually it's three weeks until we run out of food and water. "I won't let anyone hurt you, ever."

"What if I am wrong?" she asks

"Wrong about what?" Bobby asks

"About who I saw. Who I thought I saw."

"Tell me who you think you saw. We'll help you work through it." I plead while rubbing my thumb up and down her back.

"I thought I saw the guy with the crown tattoo." She whispers while crying. "But I guess anyone could have that tattoo. I'm…I'm not sure."

Fucking Ramone. But she is right, he isn't the only one with a crown tattoo. "Can you tell me about the tattoo? Where is it?" I swear if she says describes his tattoo on his hip, I'm going to rip his head off.

"I don't know. It was on his hip. I bit him right above it, drew blood. But that was years ago." She is sobbing and has her head buried in my shoulder.

"What about the other guy, do you recognize him at all?" Bobby asks. His eyes are filled with rage, but I'm sure it is nothing compared to how I look.

Hailey shakes her head no. "I didn't really get a good look at him. Just a glance before I saw the other one. He kind of looks like Ranger though." I nod. They do look alike. She would remember him if he had ever hurt her. While I hold her and rub her back waiting for the sobs to subside, I start imagining all the things I'm going to do to that prick. I've waited a long time to start taking out my revenge. That is when it hits me, Ramone was my friend. He is here at Rangeman. Shit, I did this to her. All my guilt starts to resurface.

A/N: =)Thanks for the reviews…You guys are awesome! With cheer and football season in full swing, my updates may become only once a week or so. I hope you hang with me. I'm not done yet. ;)


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: Anything familiar does not belong to me. I am just using them for my own amusement.

Sorry it has been over a week since my last update. I did warn you though. ;) Thanks for the reviews, they are what keep me going and have me writing today. Love all of you!

 _I've waited a long time to start taking out my revenge. That is when it hits me, Ramone was my friend. He is here at Rangeman. Shit, I did this to her. All my guilt starts to resurface._

LPOV:

Once the sobbing was just an occasional whimper, I know I need to go deal with Ramone. At least get his ass out of the building and somewhere secure. "Hailey, I need to leave you here with Bobby for a little while, ok?" I don't get a response, so I kiss the top of her head and whisper, "I wouldn't leave you if I didn't have to, Sunshine. Bobby will keep you safe, and Woody will be at the door. I am so sorry. So sorry." I shift her over to Bobby and feel a small tinge of jealously that she goes easily to him.

I shake it off and walk back into the control room. Ranger, Ramone, Marco, Cal and Hector are no where in sight. Tank and Woody are posted on each side of my office door and talking to Max, they stopped when I walked out.

"Can I go in?" Max asks. I nod affirmative and look at Tank, not needing to say any words. He nods for me to follow him to Ranger's office and Woody takes up his post outside my office door after Max enters it.

There is no need to knock on Ranger's door, we walk straight in. I grab Ramone off the couch by the collar and slam him against the wall.

"What the fuck, Lester!" Ramone shouted.

"You son of a bitch. She recognized you." I spit out right in his face.

"She got it wrong bro." Ramone answers, trying to push me off of him.

"She described your fucking tattoo, and now I know you got this scar…bro." I seethed out yanking his pants slightly off his hip to expose the light scar left from where Hailey bit him. For years he'd sworn it was from a kinky one night stand. Ramone pales and starts looking for help from the men standing ready behind me.

"I can explain…." Ramone starts. I hit him once and he loses consciousness. I add one more to his ugly ass nose before letting him slide to the ground.

Cal moves around me and cuffs and shackles Ramone.

"Marco?" Ranger asks in an even tone.

"Cleared." I ask meeting his gaze, letting him know I have no reason to believe Marco had anything to do with Hailey. He just had the misfortune of standing beside Ramone.

Ranger nods and looks at his brother. "Dismissed." With that Marco left Ranger's office, he doesn't need to be a part of this. "Take him to a holding cell, closed circuit cameras only."

"No." I stop them. "I want him out of the building, I need to be able to tell Hailey he is no longer in the building."

Tank nods his head in understanding and smirks as he says, "I know just the place." Hector actually smiles, we all nod in agreement.

Ranger looks at Cal and Hector and informs them that transporting Ramone and everything that happens afterwards is on a voluntary basis only. Ranger, Tank and I are more than capable and willing to handle this on our own. Hector and Cal want in though, I dare say, we'll get a few more "volunteers" as well.

We head to what appears to be an average warehouse. It is actually owned by Rangeman, although it cannot be traced back to us. We use it for training, storage and _other_ activities as needed. It is soundproof and blast proof. There are also 2 sub levels that are secured beyond the rest of the building that can be used as bunkers and weapons storage. Cal drops Ramone in an empty room, still out cold. I remove the cuffs and shackles and stand against the wall waiting. The rest of the guys leave the room. The first round is mine, just me and him. No weapons, no restraints, just me and Ramone.

It is another 20 minutes before Ramone starts to come around, 20 minutes that I really didn't need alone with my thoughts. I patiently wait silently for him to come all the way around. He starts looking around at the bare walls, taking it in when his eyes land on me. I see his predicament register in his eyes. He stands quickly and looks surprised that he is not restrained.

"I can explain…." Ramone quickly starts.

A/N: =)My readers rock! Thank you again for all the reviews….you motivate me so. Highlight of my days.

So…what do you guys think? Can Ramone explain his actions? Will it matter to Lester? What kind of punishment is Ramone in for? And what about Hailey back at Rangeman…what is going on there?


	17. Chapter 17

Disclaimer: Anything familiar does not belong to me. I am just using them for my own amusement.

Sorry this is so short, it's just how it worked out. Next chapter will be longer.

" _I can explain." Ramone quickly started_

LPOV:

"I am not interested." I growl, stepping away from the wall.

"Hear me out, please." Ramone pleads

"Fuck you." I say and slam him back down on the concrete floor.

"Fuck man, I had to do it." Ramone continues.

Are you kidding me? "You had to do it? You had hurt Hailey? What exactly did you have to do?"

"It was either her or my sister. I…I didn't know what they were planning. I thought it was just to get your attention or maybe to move some product." My fist slams into his jaw. "Fuck man! YOU left them hanging. You left me hanging, what was I suppose to do?"

"Be. A. Fucking. Man." I start choking him, he finally connects a punch to my eye. Whatever.

"I didn't have the training you had! I had no other way to protect my sister, MY family. Come on man."

"So why didn't you come clean when I came back and came looking for her? What is your excuse Ramone, because that is all I am hearing." I ground out.

"Bro…did you see you when you came back? I didn't want to die. She was gone, I thought you would move on."

What a fucking low life. I growl, "And what did you do to her? Huh? What the fuck did she ever do to you?" I have him against the wall again, it is taking all of my control to not keep punching him in the face. While satisfying, it would take forever to get the answers I want if I keep knocking him out.

"Fuck. You know what I did! I had to do it. Damn it, I am not like that anymore, you know that. Shit, I have a wife and kid now. My fucking son calls you uncle! Think about what you are doing."

His kid. I hadn't thought about his kid. Damn, I had been sure today was his last day on the earth, but that means an innocent kid without his father. Maybe the kid would be better off without this father. This is the type of situation that I will be agonizing over for years to come, taking a life is never an easy decision, I am just better at hiding it than Steph.

Apparently Ramone took my silence as me listening and agreeing with him because the stupid fucker kept talking. "I know you like it rough and I knew she could handle it. The bitch should have just taken it, but no, she had to be a dumb slut and fight back."

I start hitting him relishing in the sound of breaking bones and sight of gushing blood. Eventually Ranger and Tank come and pull me off of a lifeless Ramone. "This isn't the plan." Ranger says. "We'll take it from here." I nod and go down to the bunker to get cleaned up and head back to Rangeman. I am not exactly sure what they have planned for Ramone, but with Ranger and Tank's experience with torture and Hector being, well Hector, I know it will be fitting. Ramone will be begging for his life, and just maybe he will give us some useful information. This is far from over.

A/N: =)Thank you for your patience…I know it has been a while since I updated. I promise I will try to do better. Thanks for the reviews!

So…I'm having trouble fitting in everything I want….So what do you want to see the most (You can pick more than one) Ramone, about Hailey's life the past 5 years, Morelli, Hailey's point of view, Steph/Ranger, angst, real healing, sex, twists and turns or something else completely?

Also…I am starting to make an outline for my next story….so whose story do you want to see? Who is your favorite Merry Man? Does Steph need a MM? or Does Ranger need a story? I won't be doing a Ranger/Steph story (except as background characters like this one) unless something just really strikes me. )


	18. Chapter 18

Disclaimer: Anything familiar does not belong to me. I am just using them for my own amusement.

I know this chapter is still on the short side, but two short chapters a week is better than one long chapter every week and half, right?

LPOV

When I get back to Rangeman, I find Hailey still in my office with Bobby and Max. She is curled up in the corner of the couch hugging her knees. I can see the tear streaks from where she has been crying. Seeing her looking so much like the day I found her again, is like a punch to my gut. I hit my knees in front of her and start begging for forgiveness.

"I am so sorry Sunshine. So sorry. I didn't know, please forgive me. I'll do anything." I keep begging.

Hailey lifts my head so my gaze meets hers. "Why are you sorry? You didn't do anything. You have to stop blaming yourself. I am the one that keeps fucking up your world. I'm sorry. I'm sorry that…..God, I'm just sorry."

I open my mouth to tell her that I never want to hear her apologize for any of this ever again, but she stops me. "What happened?" Hailey asks as she runs her thumb over what I assume is now a really nice bruise just below my eye.

"It doesn't fucking matter." I whisper. "Are you ready to go downstairs?" Hailey tenses, but nods yes. I pick her up bridal style and gently kiss her head.

I hear a small chuckle before Hailey says, "I can walk."

"And I can carry you." I reply as I walk out of my office and towards the elevator.

Once we are downstairs in my apartment, we sit on the couch and hold each other. I have so much I want to say to her and ask her, but honestly I have no idea how. I'm coming up with the courage to say something when Hailey speaks: "Max has been asking me to think about asking you to come to some of my sessions."

" I'll be there."

"You don't know when it is."

I smile. Does she really think I don't know? "It doesn't matter, and it's tomorrow." I murmur in her ear while pulling her closer. We spend the rest of the night curled up on the couch.

The next day, after pancakes and cartoons, Max comes to the apartment. I don't have anything against Max, but talking to him about my feelings isn't one of my favorite things. I've talked to him, and a slew of other therapist, the past six years, many of them about my guilt. However, I am looking forward to hopefully really talking to Hailey and finding out where she is emotionally.

The session lasts three emotionally grueling hours. The session finally ends when Hailey completely breaks down. "I don't deserve get better, I don't deserve be happy, I don't deserve to be here." Hailey sobs.

I get up to go tell her how ridiculous that is, when Max stops me. I growl letting him know he better make this better fucking fast. "Why don't you deserve these things?" Max calmly asks.

"Because I left, I just left." she sobs.

"Left what?" Max asks. I really want to punch his calm ass and just make the tears stop.

"I left them, the other girls. Amanda and Kelsie. And Cami. I know he was pissed and took it out on them." she sniffed and curled into a ball. Max moved to physically stop me from getting to Hailey.

"Hailey, you ran away? Why didn't you go to the police?" Max asks.

Hailey nods her head and then shrugs as she says "The police don't care. They know, he has connections."

"Who is he?" Max asks

A sobbing Hailey doesn't answer at first, but finally whispers "Mark. Mark and Sean."

I can't take it anymore, I push past Max and wrap Hailey in my arms. Max and I sit there listening to her cry herself to sleep.

A/N: =)Yay for the reviews! No worries, I won't be starting another story like this until this one is finished. I am working on a challenge story though. Keep the reviews, motivation, advice and requests coming! =)


	19. Chapter 19

Disclaimer: Anything familiar does not belong to me. I am just using them for my own amusement.

LPOV

I awoke to the sun shining in through the window. Hailey had fallen asleep in my arms last night and she is still curled up there. I missed my morning workout, but this is a perfect way to wake up. After the past two emotional days, I hope today we can just relax. I start thinking about ways to spend the day. Movies? Roof top picnic? Board games? Hailey starts to stir and looks up at me. I've missed this. She smiles at me then sits straight up in bed.

"Shit! We're late." She runs for the bathroom. I sigh and get out of bed.

"Sunshine, it is ok if we don't go today."

"I am doing this." Hailey replies from the other side of the door.

"They have plenty of help. You've had a rough a couple of days." I try again.

Hailey comes back out. "Les…"

"There will be lots of people. You need a break Sunshine." I say putting my arm tentavily around her shoulder. "There will still be plenty to do tomorrow, or next week."

"I need to do this Les. Please. It's all I can do, I can't help the girls I left, but I can help someone. Please don't fight me on this." Hailey pleads.

I sit her down on the bed and sit next to her. "What if you could help them? Amanda, Kelsie and Cami. What if there is a way to try and help them?" Hailey looks at me questioningly, so I continue. "If you tell me what you can about where you were and the people there, I can look for them. Maybe we can find them and get them help." OK, more likely I'll kill every son of a bitch and burn the place down, but if the girls are still there, I'll make sure they are safe.

"I can't ask you to do that." Hailey sighs.

"You're not asking, I'm begging." I plead.

"Les….." Hailey starts. "I don't know. They have friends. What if they come after you? There is so much that can go wrong. I was lucky." She is near tears.

I pull her closer to me. "Sunshine, I can take care of myself…..and you. Let me try to help. Please." Hailey nods her head. Hailey starts telling me some details on location and people. Still skipping the details that obviously make her uncomfortable, but it is something. Once she finishes, I hold her until the sobs subside and she insists on going upstairs and being a part of today.

After we are both dressed, we head up the 5th floor conference room. Most of the other guys are already in there along with Steph. Ranger raises his eye brow when we walk in, but continues: "Cal, Woody, Binkie and Tank will leave 0900 for New York to finish packing the residents who are moving. The rest of us will be at the Hope Now taking care of any last minute issues and helping to unload and when the New York Team arrives. Any questions? No. Dismissed."

Everyone filed out of the room except Core team, Hailey and Steph. It's obvious Hailey has been crying. Steph gives her a hug and asks for her help in some sort of last minute details. I here talk of stopping at Starbucks on the way out.

Ranger looks at me, "Can she handle this today?"

I nod, "She is determined. We need a plan if it gets to be too much, without actually telling her we think she needs a break. How is it going with Ramone?"

Tank smirks, he loves this shit, crazy bastard. "Most of the guys have had their turn. Hector and one of his friends is taking over today. I thought we might find time to pay him a visit later to see where they are in breaking him….completely. The loose ends will still need to be tied up."

I nod. Good. He no longer has anything to offer me now that Hailey has started talking. "When this is finished, we have a new mission."

Bobby is the first to pounce, "What mission?"

I fill the guys in on mine and Hailey's conversation this morning and the information she gave me. They are still processing the information when Steph and Hailey come back and it is time to go. No one wants to risk talking about it in front of either of them. I might need to set both of them up with plans tomorrow so we can have all day to finish dealing with Ramone and start this new task. But what? Hailey still isn't comfortable being in public places and hasn't been anywhere outside of Rangeman with out me. Ok, so that might be as much for my sanity as hers.

A/N: Read and Review please. It is taking me longer to post each chapter due to family obligations currently. Thanks for sticking with me. Once we make it through October, I should be back to posting several times a week. But, I'm also off work today and tomorrow, so I am hoping to get another chapter out tomorrow as well! Fingers crossed.


	20. Chapter 20

Disclaimer: Anything familiar does not belong to me. I am just using them for my own amusement.

Warning: This chapter gets very graphic with Ramone's punishment and involves rape. If you don't like such things, please just skip this chapter and pick up with the next chapter when I post it. You won't miss anything vital as I will recap in a very PG rated way what happens here. Thanks!

LPOV

It was a long but successful day of getting Hope Now New Jersey up and running. Rangeman will continue to offer security and self-defense lessons. Many men will also continue to do volunteer hours teaching skills or doing maintenance work. I look over at a sleeping Hailey, she held up well, but crashed into me as soon as we got in SUV to head back to Rangeman.

Bobby parks the SUV and I quietly and carefully take Hailey in my arms and head upstairs. With any luck, she will not wake, making it possible for me to go visit Ramone with Tank. After tucking Hailey in, I quietly go out in the living room to talk to Bobby. He agrees to stay until I return and to text me if Hailey wakes up. He starts pillaging through my food and movie collection, he makes fun of my sugary cereals and cartoon movies, but secretly he loves them just as much as I do.

***********Warning: The next section is graphic and involves physical violence and rape. Skip if you are easily offended or do not like to read such things. It is all about Ramone's punishment and can be skipped. Don't say I didn't warn you. Just pick up with the next chapter. Thanks*******************

Tank and I arrive at the warehouse and are greeted by a smiling Hector. A smiling Hector is scary, that man shows never shows enjoyment unless it is really sick and twisted. It seems that 15 men have taken their turns with Ramone in the past two days. Each was given the option of securing him, or allowing him to fight back. They all chose to have him unsecured and every single one gave him a beat down, effectively telling him he isn't shit. Now a friend of Hector, who has served some hard time and enjoys men on occasion, and also hates men who hurt and rape women and children, is having some quality time with our friend Ramone.

"I have a friend into pharmaceuticals, he gave me a pill that is like Viagra times 100. I crushed it up and put it in the bastard's water. Now he has a hard on and can't figure out why. Scratch is breaking him saying Ramone must like being his bitch because he is staying hard." Hector informs us with a laugh.

We walk into a room and watch through the monitor Hector has set up. Ramone is bruised and beaten, his face almost unrecognizable. Every man has been careful to not break his arms or legs, so each man could have a full turn. Now all bets are off, Hector's friend Scratch is free to break anything he needs. We watch as Scratch ties Ramones hands behind his back and lean him over a table. Ramone is crying and Scratch looks wickedly happy. Scratch takes Ramone's small but hard male organ and places it in a vice grip looking thing screwed on under the table to effectively keep Ramone from trying to move, at all.

"Beg me." Scratch instructs Ramone.

"Fuck you." Ramone whines out.

"If you are good, you will get to my pet. But right now you are being a very bad and noisy boy. I think you like being punished." And with those words, Scratch gagged Ramone. He then placed what looked like a peeled jalapeño in Ramone's exposed ass and began beating him with a belt. After about twenty or so lashes, Scratch dons a condom and removes the pepper and starts enjoying Ramone more intimately.

When Scratch finishes, he looks at Ramone and says "Now let me show you a better use for your mouth than the crying and shit I've been hearing." He then removes Ramone from the table and secures him on his knees against a wall, with his hands and ankles tied together. Scratch then pries his mouth open with some sort of device and inserts a guard that keeps Ramone from being able to close his mouth. Where the fuck does he get these tools? Scratch grabs Ramone by his head and begins to fuck his face. Scratch's pelvic bone is smashing in to Ramone's broke nose and we can all hear the whimpers mixed with the choking sounds. I look over to see Hector and Tank both grinning and realize I am surrounded by some sick and twisted individuals, I'm glad they are on my side.

Eventually, Tank and I go see Ramone and he begs us to just kill him. I laugh at him. "Seriously, after just two days? You submitted Hailey to this shit for over five years. You're a weak son of a bitch." Tank and I left shortly after, Hector promised to show us the video once he is completely broken.

On the ride home, Tank tells me the Miami team has found evidence that Ramone has been cheating on his wife and she is filing for divorce. I nod, good. That will make facing them in the future a little bit easier.

A/N: Read and Review please. Sorry, I get a little twisted sometimes.


	21. Chapter 21

Disclaimer: Anything familiar does not belong to me. I am just using them for my own amusement.

A/N: Sorry, I have been MIA. Life, Medical Issue, Holidays and my muse decided to take what appears to be a permenant vacation. It is still not back yet, but I am forcing out another chapter anyways. Maybe my muse will take the hint and come to my rescue.

SPOV

It has been a busy week, but Hope Now New Jersey is completely up and running. Now that our guys are pretty well set up and scheduled to do skills training with the women at both locations, I am reaching out to others in the community. Maybe, I can even get some leads on acceptable jobs for the women. I am at my desk making a list while waiting for a search to run, when I get an email from Julie.

 _Hey Steph! I can't wait to come up there next week. 2 whole weeks with you guys, Yay! I was wondering if you knew what we are planning to do….if anything…..so I know what to pack?_

 _See Ya Soon,_

 _Jules_

Shit. Shit! I forgot about Julie coming up next week. I am sure Ranger hasn't "forgotten" but I don't think he has planned anything. We have all been so busy with Hope Now opening and since the opening, there have been lots of closed door meetings between the core team. It is probably for the best, I think for once I don't want to know. I haven't heard anything about Ramone, but I doubt he is walking happily around Miami. Miami….Julie! I need to go talk to Ranger.

I knock and wait for the "Babe" before entering. I open the door and Tank, Bobby and Lester are all in there as well. They are all holding notepads and Tank is working on a Tablet. They are obviously planning something, but I am not sure what.

"Hey, Julie just emailed me and asked if we are doing anything when she comes up next week, so she'll know what to pack." I state, still standing in the doorway. Ranger's face is blank, but I got a curious glance from the other three. I doubt they realized Julie was coming.

"I think we might need to post pone her trip." Ranger said.

"That is going to crush her. Let her come, maybe we can just go away for a weekend, if at all. That way you can still work. I can take her shopping and to get her nails done….." I trailed off.

"I am not sure this is a good time." Ranger counters. "Maybe we can just delay it a week, give me time to get a few things in order." The rest of the team gives a slight nod. They are definitely up to something.

"Fine, but you have to be the one to tell her. And you have to plan something really great for when Julie does come." I say.

Before Ranger can even reply, I hear a "Julie is coming?" from behind me. I turn to see Hailey standing there, holding a bottle of water and a blueberry muffin. I move from the doorway to make room for her has well.

"She was coming next week, but Ranger is delaying it a week." I inform her.

Hailey looks at Ranger and asks, "Why?"

Another round of looks are exchanged from the guys. I hate their silent communication thing. Finally Ranger answers, "Next week is not a good time."

"And the week after is going to be better?" Hailey counters as she puts her hand on her hip. The more Hailey comes out of her shell, the more I like her.

"It would be more convenient." Answers Ranger.

"Parenting isn't about convenience. How often do you see her Carlos? What could possibly be more important than her visiting next week?" Hailey is on a roll.

Ranger looks like a little boy being scolded by his mother. "You're right. Julie is coming next week." Ranger looks at me and adds, "We'll plan a weekend getaway, the beach at Point Pleasant?"

"Serioulsy, the beach?" Hailey asks

"Julie likes the beach." Ranger counters.

"She lives in Miami. I doubt the beaches in New Jersey have anything on the beaches in Miami. Try again. Something she doesn't do every day of her life." Hailey demands. Ranger leans back, and I notice a tiny smile on his lips. Lester, Bobby and Tank are also watching Hailey with a looks that is not quite amusement.

Ok so no to the beach, oh I know what Julie would like! "New York!" I say, jumping back into the conversation. "We could catch a show, see some landmarks and do a little shopping."

Ranger groans. "New York is a security nightmare. How about camping. I've never taken Julie camping."

Now I groan. "Camping? I hate camping. I don't like sleeping on the ground and peeing in bushes."

"Come on, it will be fun." Rangers says, then with a smirk adds, "It's only a weekend Babe, I promise to make it worth your wile."

"Longer than a weekend." Hailey interjects again.

"I can't take longer than a weekend right now. There are new hire contracts, client meetings, trainings and other projects I need to handle" Ranger sighs.

"If Uncle Sam called and needed you for longer than a weekend would you say no?" Hailey asks.

"I can't say no." Ranger replies.

"And what would happen to Rangeman?" Hailey inquires.

"It would continue to run on the contingency plan in place for when I am not here." Ranger admits.

"And in this instance, you might still actually be reachable by phone if it is an absolute must." Hailey finishes smugly. Clearly she is going to win this argument. Hailey then adds, "You deserve a vacation Carlos. Everyone deserves a vacation."

Lester pipes up with a mischevious grin, "Do you mean that Sunshine, 'Everyone deserves a vacation'? Hailey cautiously nods her head yes. Lester full on smiles, "Then that means you too Hailey and I have the best idea."

A/N: My apologies again for it being so long since I updated. So, what do you think Lester's idea is? Do you think Hailey will go along with it?


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